Yeah, a teenager trying to decode the Voynich MS would be awesome! Vaguely "Name of the Rose." I'd have to do a ton of research, including renewing my almost non-existent math knowledge, all the way back to fractions. However, it would be cool.

Have either of you guys seen this code that the FBI sent out a public call for people to try to decipher? It's a few pieces of paper found in the pocket of a murdered man in a cornfield: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911. It's so bizarre to me that the FBI would reach out the public. The conspiracy theories start percolating. . .

I hadn't heard about this, but a few weeks ago there was a thing on the History Channel (I think) about the Zodiac killer, and HE wrote letters in code that were published in the newspaper. Only one of them was deciphered conclusively and it didn't turn out to have any real information, but I think the code cracker was just a regular person.

Yeah, it was a high school teacher and his wife, who were a couple of amateur cryptologists. The Zodiac case is so fascinating, because the killer just stopped. Incidentally, the 2007 movie about the case was really good. I expected it to be gruesome, but it wasn't gory.